Libertad de expresión e información

Defense of the fundamental rights of freedom of information and expression against attacks from corporate lobbies and repressive and short-sighted government policies.

The right to freely use and disseminate information should be the norm and trade secrets, the exception.

We must prevent new trade secret laws from entitling means for companies to hide abuses or information in general interest and to dodge transparency policies.

After the revelations of Wikileaks and the emergence of whistleblowing platforms to denounce corporate abuse and institutional corruption like XnetLeaks, protection of trade secrets put the focus on the criminalization of “hacktivism”.

We work in the elaboration of specific laws to protect whistleblowers, journalists and activists who disclose information in the public interest, abuses and corruption against the corporate legal harassment.

Outdated and shortsighted leaders are pushing big online platforms that host the global conversation to apply these tools as a solution to other problems that they are not facing such as online harassment, hate speech or a totally outdated copyright law.

This approach inevitably leads to the systematic elimination of online content undermining our freedoms of information and expression and it does not solve these problems.

Governments should develop clear regulations and in accordance with fundamental rights and the digital environment on which contents are illegal and should be removed, not force online platforms to act as police algorithmos medianta Internet and the terms of service as law .

Defense of freedom of information and expression against corporate and governmental censorship

As revealed by Snowden, our fundamental right to privacy is being undermined by the massive and systematic monitoring of private companies and/or governments.

Our personal data and communications are part of our private life, and as such theys should be treated. Encryption is more than ever a necessary tool to protect our privacy and freedom of expression against self-censorship that comes from being subject to constant monitoring. We must demand laws that enshrine strong encryption and prohibit practices of including backdoors in encryption tools.

Everything explained in this guide is to protect the inviolability of our communications, our right to privacy and freedom of political opinion, expression and access to information, all of them fundamental rights that have been legally recognized for centuries. It is important that legal doctrines that blame the tools for the crimes are not established. […]

What is happening in Spain these days in relation with the situation in Catalonia is a very significant milestone in the defence of freedoms and rights around the world in the digital age. The reaction of the Spanish government has clearly shown that the entire population – not only those living in Catalonia – needs […]

The right to freely use and disseminate information should be the rule, and trade secrets the exception. Trade Secrets should not be used to shield and hide information about corporations wrongdoings, malpractices and abuses.

We encourage you to support the safety and security of users, companies, and governments by strengthening the integrity of communications and systems. In doing so, governments should reject laws, policies, or other mandates or practices, including secret agreements with companies, that limit access to or undermine encryption and other secure communications tools and technologies.

We must move towards the creation of distributed information and global conversation spaces that can be managed as common goods, with public support and resources if needed, instead of having to rely on private monopolies.

Note about funding: Xnet is an activist project; it is not a formal organisation with offices, salaries and all the rest. Its members are activists with the time & will to get involved in the project. Occasionally, Xnet promotes specific projects where funding is required. When found, this funding is used to, among other things, develop tasks that are remunerated and which costs are detailed for each activity expenses.
The maintenance of this website, and of some of the activities you can find here, have been possible thanks to grants for the promotion of social and cultural activities, coming from: